In this light, Foundations of Chinese psychology, bridges the gap between western and eastern traditions and elaborates on theories based on local phenomena, findings, and experiences by research methods that are contextually appropriate.
Using a guiding principle of cultural psychology, ‘one mind, many mentalities’, this book advocates the balancing of a global psychology concept without sacrificing that of a specific locality and people. It analyzes the basics of confucionism and compares them to Western ethical thinking, arriving at a series of theories concerning social exchange, face, achievement motivation, organizational behaviors, and conflict resolution.
Beyond the specifics of a particular culture, this book exemplifies the act of constructing autonomous social science that may be emulated in other non-Western settings. It also serves as an excellent guide for cross-cultural research as well as a caveat on the limitations of presumptive individualism and exclusionary perspectives.